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I'm an addict

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Re: I'm an addict

#381

Post by sirsinsalot »

burner22 wrote: post #286
thomastjeffery wrote: post #271

Sounds like OP isn't necessarily an addict: they have ADHD. Half the article was them complaining about poor working memory, and the rest about getting stimulation/dopamine from unhealthy sources. Everyone has "a little ADHD". We all occasionally , forget things, hyperfocus on things we are excited about, etc. ADHD is the disorder of having those struggles so often it's debilitating. It stems from having an underdeve…

I feel seen. My mechanism for remaining focused and getting through work has been to consume harder illicit substances, mostly cocaine. It's effective but definitely not sustainable long time and I'm not too sure where from here.

Try Modafinil, it replaced my coke habit.

I was later diagnosed with severe ADHD.

Re: I'm an addict

#382

Post by solitus »

WXLCKNO wrote: post #267
wincy wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, I used to be an atheist. Like, going to Richard Dawkins on campus, sneering at how stupid Christians were rolling my eyes at every little thing atheist. For a good ten to fifteen years. Then I realized it was terrible for my mental health and just got over myself and adopted more of a Pascal’s Wager outlook. Like, I frankly don’t give a damn about the truth or falsity of religion anymore. That’s not the point…

I know the universe is a cold void but I find tons of meaning in seeing my family and friends be happy. From my relative perception of what's good and what matters, that's sufficient. Perpetuating mass delusion through religion doesn't seem like the better bet.

Replace the word "religion" by "communal life philosophy" and perhaps you'll start understanding its actual value.

I've been reading Stoic philosophers for some time now and it has helped me a lot. Christianity seems to take a lot from them and adds a mythical spin.

I think the biggest issue with religion stems from the fact that many people fail to understand religious texts are not factual they are metaphorical. Unfortunately, throughout history (and still today) this misunderstanding has been used and led to an incalculable number of heinous crimes.

Re: I'm an addict

#383

Post by Melting_Harps »

boppo1 wrote: post #339
annie_muss wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this completely. I sounded just like the OP. I struggled with it for decades. Then recently I was diagnosed and started taking medication. Some of the problems basically stopped instantly. I implore anyone reading this and noticing it in themselves to go to a professional and find out if you have ADHD or not. I am by no means "cured" or completely functional but at least now I have a fighting chance.

Medication came with unacceptable side-effects for me. Real bummer.

> Medication came with unacceptable side-effects for me. Real bummer.

I was tested at very young age, as most millennials were in the US, and was told I did not have it, luckily; but looking back on the people who were raised in that era and how they handed out SSRIs like candy I'm glad I dodged that bullet because the adverse affects of those drugs sound way worse than coping with ADHD--but it also explains why mental hygiene/health issues in the US are as severe as they are.

It's sad that people have ADHD, I personally can enter 'flow state' and block out all things for hours, even days or weeks if I really try; but it's to the detriment of everything else and so horrible for my mental and physical health.

I lived that way for almost a decade with only small pauses in between, power napping is all I slept and a good day was 3-5 hours, with work schedules that were optimized for productivity over everything and my life seriously was in shambles: I was a boot-strapping founder with a stressful day job(s) and side hustles and worked 7 days/week with 90+ hour totals. I tried my best to maintain a very contentious relationship and failed miserably at it.

I think what needs to be addressed is that extremes are all bad, and OP's situation seems like it would be manageable were it not for self-satisfying rationalization to waste his time. It's like those self-sabotaging people who get off on the rush from the failure more than succeeding, this scene in Two for The Money explains it rather well [0].

0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdE-BZoB9SA

Re: I'm an addict

#384

Post by 121789 »

mod wrote: post #338
malnourish wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck getting prescribed that by any GP. I am as above board as I can be when it comes to my medicine (never take more than 1 a day, never ask for more, etc) but the song and dance for getting refills, let alone a new or changed prescription, makes me feel like a criminal hunting for his next fix. I can't imagine what it must be like for people who legitimately need opiates.

My 78-year-old father, who doesn't even drink or smoke, gets Norcos for his back. He's a pool player and he just uses them when he plays long enough to trigger his back pain; on a normal day at the house, he won't use any. The hoops and ridiculous requirements he has to jump through are crazy. He just got a random drug test the other day. He has to meet with the doc all the time. They ask him stupid questions (I've b…

I think it's really hard to look at the opioid epidemic and not think that these medications should have a really high bar to acquire. I'm sorry your father has to put in so much effort.

Re: I'm an addict

#385

Post by mrelectric »

boppo1 wrote: post #339
annie_muss wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this completely. I sounded just like the OP. I struggled with it for decades. Then recently I was diagnosed and started taking medication. Some of the problems basically stopped instantly. I implore anyone reading this and noticing it in themselves to go to a professional and find out if you have ADHD or not. I am by no means "cured" or completely functional but at least now I have a fighting chance.

Medication came with unacceptable side-effects for me. Real bummer.

Can you please share? What was wrong?

Re: I'm an addict

#386

Post by beebeepka »

annie_muss wrote: post #330
thomastjeffery wrote: post #271

Sounds like OP isn't necessarily an addict: they have ADHD. Half the article was them complaining about poor working memory, and the rest about getting stimulation/dopamine from unhealthy sources. Everyone has "a little ADHD". We all occasionally , forget things, hyperfocus on things we are excited about, etc. ADHD is the disorder of having those struggles so often it's debilitating. It stems from having an underdeve…

I agree with this completely. I sounded just like the OP. I struggled with it for decades. Then recently I was diagnosed and started taking medication. Some of the problems basically stopped instantly. I implore anyone reading this and noticing it in themselves to go to a professional and find out if you have ADHD or not. I am by no means "cured" or completely functional but at least now I have a fighting chance.

Glad it works for you but I don't think taking "party drugs" on a daily basis is a good long-term idea

Re: I'm an addict

#387

Post by sirsinsalot »

annie_muss wrote: post #340
AlwaysRock wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "a little ADHD" Yikes. What a bad take. Many people experience some of the side effects of ADHD may be a true statement. But saying everyone has a little bit of this debilitating mental disorder makes light of something that is not an easy thing to deal with for many sufferers. That's like saying everyone has a little cancer because sometimes we all get colds which people going through chemo may be more likely to g…

I think a better way to frame it is on a continuum. If you lose 1% of the strength in your legs you probably won't notice. If you lose 99% you're stuck using a wheelchair. There's no clearly defined point where it goes from "normal" to "problematic", but if it's bad enough to affect you functioning in day-to-day life then it's an issue.

Yes, but the clue is in the name. Disorder.

It's like concern for having clean hands. A certain amount is sensible, normal and part of being a human.

Too much of that concern, when it becomes life ruining anxiety ... is a disorder. Normal concern for clean hands isn't "a little bit of OCD".

Re: I'm an addict

#388

Post by tggir1 »

jnovek wrote: post #284
thomastjeffery wrote: post #271

Sounds like OP isn't necessarily an addict: they have ADHD. Half the article was them complaining about poor working memory, and the rest about getting stimulation/dopamine from unhealthy sources. Everyone has "a little ADHD". We all occasionally , forget things, hyperfocus on things we are excited about, etc. ADHD is the disorder of having those struggles so often it's debilitating. It stems from having an underdeve…

You alluded to this, but I think it’s worth saying explicitly: People with ADHD are 2.7 times more likely to deal with depression than people without. This is very subjective and I can’t put a finger on what it is exactly but something in this post just feels like depression.

I picked up on it too. I think theres a subtle tone of resignation or hopelessness.

Re: I'm an addict

#389

Post by cyphar »

wccrawford wrote: post #92
cyphar wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started learning Japanese about two years ago now and now all of the time I used to waste watching YouTube is spent watching YouTube in Japanese as language practice. It's still the same activity but is at least somewhat productive. I barely go on Hacker News too, since it feels like more of a waste of time ("I could be studying Japanese right now!").

Any particular recommendations for an intermediate Japanese learner? Edit: Maybe "upper beginner" is a better fit. I dunno, self study is weird.

It really depends on what you like. I personally just found Japanese versions of what I liked watching in English (cooking shows, true crime, some comedy, let's plays). Interestingly I found a new interest in house makeover shows after I saw some completely insane makeovers on 大改造 (in one episode they put the entire house on rails and pulled it to the side temporarily in order to make new foundations).

The only thing I couldn't find an abundance of is long-form video essays -- it seems that (for whatever reason) that isn't something that Japanese YouTube audiences want to watch. TV shows make documentaries which are kind of similar but those are also fairly hard to find.

Re: I'm an addict

#390

Post by sirsinsalot »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #375
colechristensen wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're splitting hairs. Everyone has a little trouble regulating themselves, some people have a little more trouble, some people have enough trouble that it becomes a disorder.

That's the entire point I'm trying to make. "Everyone has X" is a categorically wrong understanding of what the underlying problem is. An equivalent is saying everyone has trouble walking sometimes when we're talking about someone who limps and needs a cane. The symptoms are not the disorder and don't come from the same mechanism that causes normal people to have difficultly paying attention sometimes.

Absolutely this. A normal range of feeling / experience isn't a "bit of a disorder" ... it is no disorder.

Feeling like you need to wash dirt off your hands before eating isn't a "bit of OCD", that's normal.

Worrying irrationally so much about clean hands that it ruins your life, leaving you crying from normal tasks like cooking ... every touch of a surface triggers fight/flight ... is a disorder.

It isn't the mechanism that's important, but the impact and motivators.

Same with ADHD. A bit of being inattentive or forgetful or whatever ... isn't a "bit" of the disorder that also contains some of those behaviours in extreme.

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